It is a white powder that is sold by the gram and is consumed through the nose with a straw and promises energizing effects. It is not cocaine, but Sniffy, a legal product that has been sold for several days in French tobacconists and on the Internet.
“A white powder that you inhale through the nose? Although it may cause prohibited pleasure, it is completely in accordance with the law,” the brand says on its website.
The product, available in five flavors for less than 15 euros, “instantly provides energy” for “20 to 30 minutes”, in particular thanks to the presence of caffeine, creatine and taurine in its ingredients. The brand justifies consumption by inhalation due to the “speed” of its effects.
“It’s totally scandalous”
But the similarity of its administration with that of cocaine reacts strongly to some health professionals, such as Amine Benyamina, addicted psychiatrist and president of the French Federation of Addictions, who calls for its prohibition by public authorities “as of this weekend”.
“What shocks me is the intention behind this product. You sell a product in the form of a white powder with a pipette, the intention is very clear, it is to remind people of cocaine consumption, it is an excess of marketing, you dared and managed to place it in tobacconists or in other places, which seems totally scandalous to me,” he denounces on BFMTV.
The psychiatrist specialized in addictions also remembers that addiction is not limited to the consumption of the product but is also linked to “the effects of the product and the intention given to these products.”
This product, which resembles “completely, totally and unequivocally” cocaine, aims, according to him, to “in one way or another” consumers to consume “a product that is not toxic in the sense of its components, but yes it is because of the message it transmits”.
“It is not just the gesture, it is the gesture and all the unconscious thinking around the product that is powdered with a pipette that is the equivalent of the gestures and ritual of cocaine, it is even more pernicious than one can imagine .
Tobacconists denounce the “merger” of the product
An opinion shared by Elina Dumont, former drug addict and president of Oubliés de la République, who fears that traffickers use Sniffy to deceive consumers and turn them into narcotic addicts.
The product was not easy to find in the BFMTV tobacconists. And rightly so, since the product is recent, it is not yet distributed everywhere. But some tobacconists have also indicated that they have been stolen since it was put on the market, while others have confided that they do not want to offer it to their customers.
The National Confederation of Tobacconists, which represents the 23,000 merchants in the region, is also “firmly” opposed to its commercialization. “We have ethics, we have morality, this product creates an amalgam or a parallel with a surprising product, it is unthinkable to me that the chain could market this product,” Philippe Coy, president of the organization, insists on our antenna.
Public authorities on alert for “several weeks”
He indicates that he “alerted public authorities several weeks ago” to request the ban.
“This product is not illegal because of its composition, but rather because of the way it is consumed, which shocks and disturbs,” explains Philippe Coy, who also denounces its promotion on social networks by influencers.
Questioned by 20 Minutes, the manufacturer of Sniffy, a CBD specialist from Marseille, according to the newspaper, hoped that the comparison of his product with cocaine would “come up.” Although he recognizes that “it can shock people,” he defends himself against any incitement to the consumption of illicit products. The product is prohibited for children under 18 years of age and not recommended for pregnant women and people with heart problems.
Source: BFM TV
